> but we still need to know something about this class of things called
> 'human beings' before we can begin to discuss murder. That's the main
> distinction I still see here.
>
> --Merv
>
>
> To jump into a thread where I haven't sifted through all the previous
posts...so i might be a bit out of context...

Why just knowledge about a class called human?
Seems to me any sentient being counts here. Why place all sentient beings
in the class of humans? That doesn't seem justified. Are we really going
to say the class of all sentient beings exactly overlaps the class of
humans? On what basis?
And....if the common attribute is "self aware personhood", why would that
not include God too?

If we spend money on SETI I dont think we are really limiting our
consideration to humans only. We are assuming not just intelligence, but
self awareness, personhood, and the ability to do something that doesn't
take place in nature. All of these are quite reasonable assumptions in SETI.

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Received on Tue Nov 10 22:02:53 2009